CBD Aichi Targets

CBD Aichi Targets
Name	CBD Aichi Targets
Adopted	2010
Location	Nagoya
Treaty	Convention on Biological Diversity
Parties	196
Related	United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, Nagoya Protocol

Contents

CBD Aichi Targets The Aichi Biodiversity Targets were a set of twenty global objectives agreed in 2010 at the Nagoya meeting of the Convention on Biological Diversity to guide biodiversity conservation through 2020. Negotiated by parties including Brazil, Australia, Japan, India and the European Union, the Targets informed national plans, regional initiatives and international reporting alongside instruments such as the Nagoya Protocol and the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety. Framed within the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011–2020, they linked multilateral diplomacy, scientific assessment and donor policy across institutions like the United Nations Environment Programme, the World Bank, Global Environment Facility and the IUCN.

Background and development

The Targets emerged from a decade of multilateral negotiations involving forums such as the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, the United Nations General Assembly, the G20 and inputs from scientific bodies including the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services and the IPBES predecessor expert groups. Delegates from states like China, United States (as observer actors), South Africa and Mexico worked with non-state actors such as WWF, Conservation International, BirdLife International and academic institutions including University of Cambridge, Harvard University and the Smithsonian Institution to translate targets into measurable indicators. The negotiation drew on prior agreements such as the Rio Declaration and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora and sought coherence with initiatives by the United Nations Development Programme and the Food and Agriculture Organization.

The twenty Targets span themes from mainstreaming biodiversity in sectors to area-based conservation, sustainable use and benefit-sharing, and capacity-building. Targets referenced high-profile places and frameworks such as Ramsar Convention, World Heritage Convention, Amazon rainforest, Great Barrier Reef and Coral Triangle to anchor commitments on protected areas, species recovery and habitat restoration. They aligned with actors like UNESCO, Convention on Migratory Species, CBD Secretariat guidance and instruments promoted by funders such as the Global Environment Facility and philanthropic partners like the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and Rockefeller Foundation.

Parties translated the Targets into National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans prepared under the Convention on Biological Diversity and coordinated with national agencies such as ministries in Germany, France, Kenya, Brazil and Canada as well as regional bodies including the European Commission, African Union and ASEAN. Implementation involved linkages to sectoral agencies tied to landscapes like the Congo Basin, coastal programs in Indonesia, agricultural policy in Argentina and fisheries management in Norway, often supported by technical partners such as UNEP-WCMC, IUCN and research centers like CIFOR and CIAT. Financing and capacity-building drew on mechanisms including the Global Environment Facility, bilateral aid from Japan International Cooperation Agency and USAID and public–private partnerships with corporations such as Unilever and IKEA engaging with supply chains.

Global and national progress was assessed through mechanisms involving the CBD Secretariat, the IPBES assessments, the Living Planet Index by WWF and ZSL, and reporting to the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity. Outcomes varied: some parties achieved expansion of protected areas citing Papua New Guinea, Peru and parts of the European Union while others reported declines in indicators for species, wetlands and pollinators documented by organizations such as BirdLife International, TRAFFIC and the IUCN Red List. Evaluations by institutions including the United Nations Environment Programme and the World Bank highlighted partial achievement of Targets related to planning and awareness but shortfalls in targets addressing sustainable production and invasive species.

Critiques arose from scholars at University of Oxford, Stanford University and University of Queensland and NGOs including Friends of the Earth over issues such as insufficient financial commitments from entities like the Global Environment Facility and donor states, uneven reporting by countries such as Russia and Saudi Arabia, and weak links between Targets and implementation in sectors influenced by corporations like Cargill and BHP. Scientists and Indigenous organizations including representatives from International Indigenous Forum on Biodiversity highlighted problems with indicators, perverse incentives affecting regions like the Amazon rainforest and Borneo, and the marginalization of customary rights in instruments such as the Nagoya Protocol implementation. Legal scholars referencing the International Court of Justice jurisprudence and analyses by the International Union for Conservation of Nature emphasized governance, compliance and enforcement gaps.

The Aichi Targets shaped negotiations leading to the post-2020 framework adopted at meetings of the Convention on Biological Diversity and influenced instruments such as the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, the agenda of the UN Biodiversity Conference, and strategies by multilateral development banks including the Asian Development Bank and the African Development Bank. Lessons from Aichi were used by academics at Yale University and policy analysts at Chatham House and IDDRI to design more measurable targets, integrate Indigenous rights advocated by groups like UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, and align biodiversity goals with the Paris Agreement and Sustainable Development Goals monitored by the United Nations.

Category:Biodiversity conservation